Characteristics of selected security threats in the Kurdistan region in Iraq
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National Defence University, Warsaw, Poland
Publication date: 2016-03-31
Security and Defence Quarterly 2016;10(1):52-71
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ABSTRACT
Since the end of World War I, the struggle with Kurdish separatism was a common problem
for Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria. Due to the constant struggle and a series of favourable
events, currently the most independent of the Kurdish regions is the Region of Kurdistan in
Iraq. The countries in the region perceive Kurdish independence, and any questioning of the
Sykes-Picot agreement, as a mortal threat to the integrity of their territories.
The following article describes and highlights selected security threats in the nascent
Kurdish Region in Iraq. These are very complex and have different sources. The work starts
with the characterisation of the geographic region of Kurdistan and the region of Kurdistan
in Iraq. The next part describes the threat from the PKK, radical Islam and terrorism. An
important aspect that generates threats for the Kurdistan Region in Iraq is the relationship
with the Central Government in Baghdad. These relations have a negative impact on the
economic and social situation in the Kurdistan Region.